Monsoon Washout

The Monsoon session of the parliament was an apodictic washout in terms of discussion and debate on the issues plaguing the country like the cataclysmic Second Covid wave, Petroleum price hike, Inflation, Stagnant Economy and the sensational 'Snooping Gate' If any person tuned in to watch the live broadcast from the parliament he or she first would find it hard to figure out whether its a parliament house or its a fish market. MPs were fighting like little kids. The whole session was marred by the fight between the Government and the Opposition. At the highest forum of debate and discussion in the country, we saw MPs using Placards, protesting at the well of the House, climbing atop the table area, and throwing the rule book at the chair. It's not that it has not happened before but the way it played out in this monsoon session of the parliament was idiosyncratic.

The Lok Sabha passed 15 bills with just 10 minutes of discussion on average. Some of these bills were important, directly impacting the populace of this Nation, for example, The General Insurance Business (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill, 2021, passed in just 4 minutes in the Lok Sabha and 18 minutes in the Rajya Sabha. Such atrocious use of the majority by the Government has rendered the parliament useless. Individual participation of MPs has stooped to a new low. Our constitution makers created the parliament for proper scrutiny of the bills being passed as laws and keeping the executive in check. This Monsoon session has failed in both of the above functions. There is a kind of abhorrence and mutual distrust between the Government and the Opposition. The present MPs have disgraced the image of Parliamentary Stalwarts like Pt Jawaharlal Nehru, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and many more. People have suffered a lot due to this monsoon washout. According to the Government reports more than 133 crore rupees of taxpayers' money has been lost. These parliamentarians should remember that their constituents have a good memory that could cost them in the elections.

These are harsh times. The Covid Pandemic has devastated the lives of millions of people. The onus is now on the Government to reach out to the disgruntled opposition so that the next session can be more productive.